Demi-Tarif

The young actress Isild Le Besco (who played the lead in A tout de suite, the latest film by Film Maker in Focus Benoît Jacquot) started writing the script for Demi-Tarif at the age of 16. Making the film was a real family affair: big brother was behind the camera, her little brother acted as well, and many scenes were filmed in Le Besco’s own house. Three children aged seven, eight and nine years old have been deserted by their mother. A father – each has a different one – has never really been around. They survive by shoplifting and begging for food from fast-food restaurants. For them, the city of Paris is one big playground. They take free trips on the Metro (the little ones have no trouble creeping under the security gates), play outside until late at night and sneak into cinemas to see their favourite films. The teacher at school starts to get suspicious because of their dirty clothes, but the hard-boiled kids manage to talk their way out of that. Chris Marker described the film as ‘the forerunner of a new nouvelle vague’, within which Demi-Tarif was ‘the new A bout de souffle’. He did not mean that there was any similarity in the story or style, only in the viewing experience. The unrestricted DV camera films the three children like a fourth brother and always from their own perspective. As a result, the spectator gets a special glimpse of their own world. A rough diamond. (SdH)